| I can hear it now! You are letting the cat out of the | | | | examine them. They don't need anything special to |
| bag. By explaining computer forensic reports, you are | | | | view or examine them. |
| aiding and helping computer criminals to cover their | | | | 2. The Deleted Files: |
| tracks. | | | | When data is deleted, it is put in the trash bin. The |
| But, there is always another side to an argument. By | | | | computer forensic expert will look in the bin to see |
| releasing this information, it can help people help | | | | what is in it. |
| computer forensic experts catch the criminals. Besides, | | | | The tougher part is the deleted files that have also |
| people who commit computer crimes are very good | | | | been deleted from the trash bin. These will require |
| at what they do. I am not releasing anything here they | | | | special software in order to restore them. |
| may not already know. | | | | 3. The Temporary Files: |
| With that out of the way, let's dive in. | | | | These data are produced when one browses through |
| What makes up computer forensics reports? Where | | | | the Internet, works on any document, and uses some |
| does the information come from? Who puts them | | | | other types of backup software and other installations |
| together? | | | | and applications. |
| Let's start with the Who. | | | | You can open some temporary files on the computer |
| Computer forensics reports are prepared by | | | | they reside on without any special software or tool. |
| computer forensics investigators. They gather the | | | | Others will require the use of special tool or software. |
| necessary information, analyze them and then draft | | | | 4. The Meta Data: |
| out the final computer forensics reports. As good as | | | | The Meta data gives you the details of a document or |
| they are, computer criminals oftentimes leave behind | | | | file. Among the details which appear include the date |
| clues which aid the investigators to track down the | | | | that such files had been created, modified, and the last |
| root cause of their crime. | | | | time when it was accessed. You can even get |
| Even when the files have been deleted from the | | | | information about the creator of the file. |
| specific location in the computer, the original data is not | | | | What makes up computer forensics reports? |
| at all erased from the entire computer system. With | | | | Computer forensic reports will be made of information |
| certain techniques, tools, and skills that the investigators | | | | from the above four sources. It will also include |
| are equipped with, the analysis of the fraudulent act or | | | | information gathered from e-mails, file transfers, web |
| crime can be made with such accuracy. | | | | browsing, online accounts, charts, and internet |
| Where does the computer forensic report information | | | | searches. Unknown to some people is that their web |
| come from? | | | | searches can be retraced. |
| There are four main areas where the investigators | | | | There you have it......the secret, but not so secret |
| gather their evidence from. There are other areas | | | | computer forensic reports. It is by no means |
| which are looked into but the following are the most | | | | comprehensive, but you get the idea. |
| commonly looked areas. | | | | Note: You are free to reprint or republish this article. |
| 1. The Saved Files: | | | | The only condition is that the Resource Box should be |
| These are easy. If you saved it, it's in the computer. All | | | | included and the links are live links. |
| the investigator needs to do is open them up to | | | | |